


House of Repose

by ThatGeekyGirl



Series: I of the Storm [1]
Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe, Family Drama, Family Feels, Multi, Tranquil Hawke, Two Hawkes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 04:06:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4814330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatGeekyGirl/pseuds/ThatGeekyGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Anders was the first one to notice something was amiss with Elaina. Garret hadn't spoken with her since their mother's murder, blaming all mages for her death, his own sister not spared from his wrath. He'd banished her from their home, and had refused to make any sort of contact, which explained why her disappearance didn't bother him. He didn't even know she was gone."</p><p>The Hawke twins have fought before, but never like this. But now she's missing, and as more time passes, the more worried everyone else becomes. Hawke needs to find her, before she winds up dead, or worse.</p><p>-AU where there are two sets of Hawke twins-</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Plates in the Sink

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all, I hope you enjoy this work. Just as a general warning, it doesn't focus on the romance aspect so much as the brother and sister bond the two Hawkes share. The relationships will be mentioned in passing, but they aren't the forefront.

Anders was the first one to notice something was amiss with truly Elaina. Garret hadn't spoken with her since their mother's murder, blaming all mages for her death, his own sister not spared from his wrath. He'd banished her from their home, and had refused to make any sort of contact, which explained why her disappearance didn't bother him. He didn't even know she was gone.

However, everyone else was beginning to grow uneasy. Varric hadn't seen her lurking around the Hanged Man, looking over her shoulder to make sure Garret didn't show up. Merrill noticed she wasn't coming in to check on her and make sure she was alright and had enough to eat. Isabela couldn't remember seeing her since the night her mother had died and she'd gone over to comfort her. But they were all just hoping that she was just mourning quietly, and that nothing had actually gone wrong.

Finally it was Anders who spoke up and addressed his concerns to the group at the Hanged Man. She was no where to be found, without a trace. It wasn't like her. This wasn't something she would do. She wouldn't want everyone worried about her.

Garret, who'd been sipping at his drink, grew stiff when her name came up. He glared at Anders, wanting to know if he was trying to imply something. "She's probably just pouting somewhere," he growled, shaking his head, "The further away she is, the better.”

Varric glanced at Garret, not sure he was believing what he was hearing. "Well, Blondie, you seem to have a theory as to where she is. You want to share that?”

"She is a mage," Anders stated, "And seems to no longer in good graces with our Hawke. That's dangerous for any mage; Especially his sister." Again, Hawke glared.

"Are you implying she's gone because of me? That's ridiculous.”

"You know, with your mother having disappeared and ending up dead, one would think you'd care a little more about another family member gone," Anders bit back, and Hawke pushed away from the table, looking ready to fight.

"Garret," Fenris spoke up, ignoring Anders, "We should look for her." Hawke just shook his head.

"Fuck that. I'm getting a drink," and that was all he had to say about that. He walked off, and the rest made a quiet plan to work with the guard and look for her as quickly as possible.

Hawke didn't sleep that night. He tossed and he turned, unable to shake the feeling something was very wrong. The little sleep he got was littered with nightmares of his mother, Carver, Bethany, and Elaina; All their lives depending on him.

The next morning he woke with a start, in an even worse mood then he had been the previous night. Stalking downstairs, Bohdan spoke to him, greeting him and telling him a letter had arrived on his desk. Opening it, he read it over quickly. 

“Garret,

The plates are in the sink.”

He only needed to read the message to know what that meant. All at once it hit him, thoughts flashing. Him and Elaina playing outside with Bethany and Carver, his mother walking quickly back from town. “Kids,” she would call, “The plates are in the sink!” Immediately they all got up, going to hide. It was their special code; It meant the templars were coming.

Moving into action, Hawke flew about the house, dawning his armor and grabbing his sword. He didn’t even need to think about what he was doing; He just did it. He needed to save her. He needed to find Elaina. But he couldn’t do that without help.

First he collected Fenris, then Anders, and finally Varric. He told them nothing about the letter, only that they needed to go to the Gallows, and that it was urgent. Across the sea they went, Hawke nearly jumping from the boat before the door where opened when they docked.  
He burst threw, the rest hot on his heels. The templars expressed confusion, Knight-Captain Cullen being the first to address him.

"Ser Hawke? What are you doing here?”

"Where is my sister? Bring me to her!" Hawke demanded. Cullen looked confused, scratching at his head.

"Bethany? She's inside.”

"No!" he yelled, "Elaina! Where the fuck is she?”

"Elaina isn't here," Cullen tried to explain, calmly.

"She told me she was here! She told me she joined the circle," Hawke was growing louder, attracting more attention, "Where is she, Cullen?!”

"I don't know," he shook is head, his hand traveling to his sword just incase. Hawke nearly grabbed his, before Fenris intervened, his hand landing on Hawke’s shoulder.

"Garret." Was all he said, a tone of warning in his voice. It would do no good to ensure the wrath of the templars when relations were already so fragile. Hawke growled, sharply turning to his group.

"Someone has her. Someone made her write to me, tell me she was here, but she's not!”

"Hawke, we'll find her," Varric spoke, looking around at all the templars, "Now please, let's get out of here." They began to walk back, when a whisper brushed passed them.

"Perhaps she's been brought to the underground. I heard they got a new tranquil," Hawke whipped around at that, ramming the templar who spoke into the world.

"Start talking," he spat, "Or I will kill you.”


	2. Slaughter

Darktown at night was not a pleasant place to be. It was hardly nice during the day, but the darkness brought the worst kind of filth of their hiding holes. That was what Hawke hoped for tonight.

The templar had told him everything, with only a little bit of convincing paired with a dagger against his throat. Templars were said to be taking mages, teaching them a lesson. Sometimes they killed them and sometimes, if they were feeling particularly cruel, they'd turn them tranquil.

Hawke's stomach felt sick as they descending into the sewers, where the templar had instructed them to go. He'd only just lost his mother. He couldn't lose Elaina too. Into the darkness they tread, the scene shockingly familiar.

He killed everything in his path. Hawke didn't care who or what died in his wake. He just wanted his sister. He'd brought Aveline with him, at her insistence, along with Isabela and Anders. They all stayed out of his way, not saying anything in regards to his massacre. They supposed they understood; She was all he had left.

“You know, that templar was probably just full of shit,” Isabela spoke, trying to chase the awkward silence away, “They wouldn’t dare do such a thing to your sister, Hawke. Not when she’s a part of one of the most powerful families in Kirkwall.” Garret didn’t respond; He just kept forward. Nothing would make him feel better until they found her. 

Near the end of the tunnel, they heard a high pitched scream. Before any of the others could react Hawke charged forward, without thinking. Into a cleared area he ran, finding a whole bunch of templars surrounding a mage. He didn’t even need to think about what to do next.

He ripping his sword from it’s seethe, and plunged straight it into the body of a templar. A terrible gurgling noise was brought from the templars throat, and he fell to the ground of the cave. This turned all of the templar’s attention to him. They swarmed him, making an attempt to take him out. Hawke would have none of it.  He took out two in a single swing, his rage consuming him. One came up behind him, and they managed to get a few good maneuvers in, taking out a chunk of Hawke’s armor, but they were nothing to him. 

The others had joined the fray; It was easy to tell when magic flowed throughout the room thanks to Anders, and Isabela daunted her opponents so loudly. But Hawke didn’t care. He could have taken them all out without them. It was a slaughter. Once the last one fell off of his blade, Hawke ran forward to the woman they’d been circling.

But the mage was not Elaina, Hawke realized quickly, his heart sinking into his boots. The mage woman had similarly colored hair, and they looked to be around the same age, but that was where the similarities ended. This woman was no Elaina. Elaina was still gone.

The mage woman thanked him, thanked all of them profusely, but they fell upon deaf ears. Hawke moved forward without saying a thing. The others stayed behind to help the girl, none of them bothering to chase after him. He could take care of himself, and he wouldn’t be much help to this girl anyway.

Leaving the sewers, not wanting to search a dead end all night, he headed back home, dragging his feet. However, something wasn't right. The travel home seemed quieter than usual. This was the time of night when bandits and assassins tried their hands, using the cover of darkness as their ally. But no one disturbed him on his walk home, which left him to his own thoughts.

He didn’t know where Elaina could be. Kirkwall was a big place, even bigger when you counted the underground. All he knew was that she was in trouble, and he couldn’t help her. This was all his fault; He’d been the one to kick her out. If she was dead, it was because of him.

As he drew closer to his mansion, he saw a shadow lingering in the distance. His footfalls fell faster as he approached, seeing that the outline matched that of Elaina's. His heart sang when he saw her standing there in the doorway, as if waiting for him.

"Elaina!" he cried out her name, "You're home!" He took her into his arms, and held her close to his chest, tears threatening to fall, But she didn’t responded. When he pulled away to look at her closer, his excitement turned to ash in his mouth. Her eyes no longer shined the way they once had, and placed on her forehead was the brand of the sun. The brand of the tranquil.

"Garret," her voice uncomfortably even, "This is for you." She handed him a note, and with shaking hand he took it and read it.

"Tread carefully Hawke. We can take all you love and more.”


	3. Mercy

“I will kill every single one of them until I found out who did this,” Garret whispered, his voice low and dangerous. No one was sure what to say, and so a uncomfortable silence fell over them. Hawke had called them all over, after finding Elaina on his doorstep, wanting to move to action. Finally Aveline shook her head, placing her face in her hands, and spoke up.

“Hawke, you can not take down the entire templar order,” she tried to keep her voice free of accusation, knowing how he’d been through so much in so little time. Not only had he lost Carver before he’d gotten to Kirkwall, Bethany had been placed in the Circle, his mother killed, but now his twin sister was tranquil. “They’ll kill you in an instant.”

“They need to pay for what they’ve done to her,” his voice was rising with every word, “They all need to pay. Every last single fucking templar.”

“Of course they do, but Hawke,” Anders cut in, “We also need to deal with a more pressing matter. What are you going to do with her?” The question lingered in the air, and Hawke slowly turned to face Anders.

“And what do you mean by that?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“She said is herself, Hawke, on multiple occasions. She said if she were ever to become tranquil, she wanted you to kill her.”

“Anders, please, now is not the time,” Aveline stressed, but she was too late to change the subject. Hawke rose to his full height, as if ready for attack.

“I’m not killing my sister!” Hawke snarled protectively, his hands gripping the edge of the table

“She’s worse then dead now!” Anders argued, “You told me I should deliver mercy to Karl, why shouldn’t your sister deserve the same? This isn’t a life she’s living; You’re extending her suffering.”

“I am not killing my sister,” Garret stressed every word, his eyes locked on Anders, “And if you so much as think about touching a hair on her head, I will kill you with my bare hands.” The two of them stood, staring at the other for a long moment, as if daring the other to fight.

“Boys, as much as I love watching two men battling it out, I think we have more pressing matter here,” Isabela spoke up, “Like figuring out who did this in the first place.” Eyes breaking away from one another, both men turned to face the rest of the group.

“Meredith more then likely wasn’t responsible,” Aveline stated, “She knows how high the tensions are running between the two groups, and probably sees you as an ally, Hawke. It makes no sense for her to target you when there is a possible alliance.”

“Then we can cross her off the list, and just assume it was done by someone else in the templar order who knows how to preform the right” Varric sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I’ll have my people listen in for any information.”

“It could have easily been another mage that didn’t like her involvement in everything that was happening,” Fenris added in, “Turning on one of their own.” Anders scoffed, rolling his eyes at the elf’s suggestion.

“An yes, because mages are the source of every single problem in Kirkwall.”

“Anders, enough,” Hawke bit out, “You’ve talked enough. All of you have. I want you out of my home, now. If you hear anything that will help, by all means come back, but until then.” He turned, and began to head up the stairs, signaling the end.

Slowly everyone trickled out of the house, leaving Hawke alone to wallow in his misery. Or at least, that is what he believed. He heard noises coming from Elaina’s room, and moved quickly, thinking that it was Anders come to preform his ‘act of mercy’.Running across the house, he threw open the door, only to find Merrill sitting on Elaina’s bed, stroking her hair, watching the now tranquil mage sleep.

“Do you think it’s strange for her?” Merrill asked softly, “Not being able to dream anymore.” Hawke couldn’t find his words, and just stood there, confused as to why Merrill was sneaking around his house.

“It’s probably not strange to her,” he was finally able to reply, “Not now.” Merrill sighed sadly, placing a small kiss on Elaina’s head, before crossing the room to Hawke.

“We should talk.”  “I don’t want to talk,” came his reply, but he followed Merrill out of the room anyway, joining her in his bedroom. She sat on the small couch that was placed in front of the fireplace, and waited for Hawke to join her before beginning to speak.

“I want to help her,” she tried to begin, but Hawke was quick to cut in before she could say anything else.

“I am not killing her, Merrill. I can’t… She’s all I have left, Merrill, she’s all I have!” Hawke shook his head, trying to will away the tears that threatened to fall from his cheeks. No, this was too much. A small hand was placed over his, and he looked to Merrill who was wearing a sad smile.

“I don’t want to kill her either, Hawke. She doesn’t deserve this. That’s why I want to save her; I want to bring her back!” Hawke looked shocked, unable to believe his ears.

“But Merrill, that’s impossible. She’s… You can’t reverse the rite!” Running his hands through his hair, Hawke got up, and began to pace about.

“I think there might be a way! There has to be,” Merrill pressed, “We… We just have to look into it! We could save her, Hawke, and bring her back!” Hawke shook his head.

“No… It’s not possible.”

“You care her, don’t you?” Merrill asked, to which Hawke immediately nodded, “Then let’s look for a way to get her back!” Hawke was quiet for a long moment, before he sighed.

“I don’t even know where to start, Merrill. I’ve never been good with all this magic stuff, that was always her job. She was always the one who figured things out. I just hit stuff.”

“That’s why you have me,” Merrill smiled ever so softly, “We can do this Hawke. We will save her, I swear.”


	4. Selfish Acts

“The Qunari have friends, Templar,” Mother Petrice, gesturing to Hawke, “How will you answer their charges?” They all stood together in the refuge Varnell had made for himself, Qunari corpses splayed across the room. When Hawke had offered to take the job for the Viscount to discover where the Qunari ambassadors were, he did not think it would lead him to these Maker forsaken people again.

Ser Varnell, not seeming to take the Mother’s threats seriously, laughed at her words, shaking his head. “Please, Mother, Hawke does not frighten me!” he replied, “I will take care of him, the same way I took care of his Qunari loving sister.” That made Hawke’s blood run cold, and then immediately fill with fire.

“What do you mean you ‘took care’ of my sister,” he spoke slowly.

“She was trying to help these animals, and so I put her in her place,” Varnell sneered, “Didn’t feel so inclined to help once I branded her. Now she’s as docile as a mouse, wouldn’t you agree?” Varnell was goading him, and of course Hawke knew that. He wasn’t stupid.

Around the last live Qunari he walked, before pulling out a knife and slitting his throat with a self satisfied smirk. Bile rose in Hawke’s throat. That was the final straw. He was going to gut him. And he was going to enjoy it. Revel in it.

“You will pay for what you’ve done,” he held tightly to his weapon, “I will make you suffer.” Before another word could be uttered, he attacked. Varnell blocked him, and called for the righteous to join in defense.

Hawke knew the believers were trying to attack him, but he could only focus on Varnell. This bastard had stolen his sister away from him. He’d taken everything from her, and left her a shallow husk of what she used to be. And he didn’t care. He probably found some sick joy in it, and the more he thought about it, the more Hawke wanted to rip his guts out.

“Oh, your poor sister,” Varnell laughed, “She cried, you know, begged me to stop. Told me she would join the circle, and be a good little mage. But, of course, we couldn’t let that happen, could we?” He was taunting him. Fucking taunting him. Hawke fought harder, and he knew it was foolish but he couldn’t help it.

“Perhaps after I kill you, I’ll pay her a visit. Tranquil’s can’t fight back, you know,” he laughed as Hawke growled, “Because I know you haven’t killed her. You’re too soft, Serah Hawke.”

“You will not touch her.”

Varnell was not a bad fighter. He was able to hold his own, and he got in a few good shots, but he stood no chance against Hawke. He delivered a blow to Varnell’s shoulder, knocking him off balance. Taking this as a opportunity, Hawke pushed him to the floor. Varnell looked as if he was about to say something, but he never got the chance.

Hawke swung his sword downward, separating Varnell’s head from his shoulders. Satisfaction was replaced quickly by the reminder he still had work to do. The rest of the righteous were taken care of with ease, and Petrice was no where to be seen.

“Aveline,” Hawke called, “Deal with this.” With that he left, heading back towards his home. He didn’t care what happened next. He couldn’t give less of a shit what the Viscount thought, or what the Arishok thought for that matter. He just needed to return to her.

Crossing the threshold, he went straight upstairs, and into Elaina’s room, but he stopped before he entered. He could hear Ander’s voice in his head, telling him he should end her life. It would be a mercy, he said. Rationally, he knew that he should kill her. It’s what she would have wanted. But he couldn’t do it, all because he was weak.

He didn’t want to live without her, as much as she was gone. Killing her would solidify it; There would be no fixing his mistakes after that. It was kinder to kill her, but he was selfish. He wasn’t ready to let go yet. He couldn’t.

Slowly, he opened the door and entered. Elaine sat in a chair by the window, watching the goings on of the world below. It took her a few moments to look over, and a soft smile appeared on her lips. She didn’t truly feel happy to see him, but she could sense how uncomfortable people were around her when she didn’t smile.

“I saw you returned,” she spoke easily, “How has your day been?”

“I killed the man who did this to you,” he said harshly, “I fucking killed him Elaina!” She nodded as if he’d just told her about the weather outside.

“That’s nice.” Crossing the room, Hawke went to her side, leaning down beside her. He took her hands in his, and he could help but notice how cold they were.

“Don’t you understand, I killed a man for you?” Hawke knew there was no point in yelling, but it made him feel better, “

“I’m sorry you had to do that,” came her reply in her same level voice. Hawke wanted to scream. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder.

“Elaina, I want you back!” he cried, “It’s not fair! Why is everything I love taken from me, because I don’t fucking understand!” There was no response, but slowly a hand ran through his hair.

“I’m right here, Hawke,” she spoke, “I’m right beside you.” He shook his head violently.

“It’s not the same! You’re not you!” 

“I’m sorry,” she repeated herself. But he knew he should be the one apologizing. This was all his fault. He’d been the one to do this. He got his family in harms way constantly. This was his doing, and he needed to fix it. He had to do more then just kill the man responsible. He had to find a way to reverse it.

“I swear to you, Elaina, I will fix this,” Hawke whispered into her shoulder, “I will fix you.”


	5. Spirit of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Realized I never posted this chapter, and it's been a while. Better late then never, I suppose.

"Merrill... Are you sure about this?" Garret spoke, voice barely above a whisper. The young elf nodded, looking about as confident as she probably felt, which did not set Hawke’s mind any more at ease..

"Yes, well, I mean, it hasn't ever been tested, but with all the research we've done over these years... It can't it wrong, right?" she shifted on the balls of her feet, looking around nervously, "I can do the magic, of course. So yes, I suppose I'm sure. Totally sure. I think.” He sighed, shivering slightly and bracing him against the cold winds, before looking to Elaina.

She stared off into the distance with the same placid look on her face since she'd come back to him branded all those years ago. Of course he'd killed the bastard who'd done it to her. He still smirked when he thought about Varnell’s corpse lying dead on the ground. In fact, he’d killed a lot of people over the past few years.

The Arishok. Many of the Qunari. Mages. Templars. Orsino. Meredith. The list seemed to go on and on. He'd killed them all, their blood colored his hands. He was swimming in red, and some days it was hard to think of himself as anything but a monster. Everyone thought he was. All except Elaina, who didn’t care one way or another.

It was so strange to him to see the she no longer had any passion. In Kirkwall she'd sat in her room most days, reading through books in order to do something, not for enjoyment. When the Qunari had attacked, Bohdan had protected her, but she didn't seem the least bit concerned for her own safety. It was much the same way when the templar and mage rebellion broke out. He'd come to her, covered in blood, telling her it was time to go. She'd packed her bags without much care, and went with him without a fight.

He protected her without reservation. He'd keep her safe, and he would find a cure for her, even if it took him to the ends of the earth, down the darkness roads. He’d promised this to both himself and her, and it seemed that is exactly what it was going to take him.

After joining the Inquisition to help stop Corypheus, Garret had discovered that there was in fact a reversal to tranquility, which had filled him with more joy then he’d ever felt . However, the process included blood magic. Very dangerous blood magic which would mess with the fibers of Elaina's mind. It all seemed wrong, but anything had to be better than the life she was living.

He'd asked her if she wanted to have the rite reversed a few days prior. The event still shook him, that much he knew. He had nightmares of Varnell dragging her off, her screams filling his ears, and him turning the other cheek and allowing it to happen. But he knew it was different for her, seeing as she lacked all emotion. Looking at him with dull eyes after the question was asked, she'd merely nodded her head.

"Anything you want, brother," had been her reply. That settled it for him. Not so much the affirmation, but the lack of anything in her voice. Death would be kinder then this, but he couldn't bring himself to kill her. So he would place her in the hands of a demon instead

Garret shivered again, more about the thought of demon involvement from the cold this time, and finally nodded. "Alright," he spoke, "Better now or never." He leaned down, and faced toward Elaina.

"We're going to begin the ritual," Garret whispered to her, adjusting the blanket around her shoulders, "We're going to fix you, and make you all better." Elaina once more nodded, looking up at him with that smile he’s grown to detest.

"Of course. Anything for you," Garret could feel tears building up in his eyes, and kissed the top of her head.

"I know," he breathed, then looked to Merrill, "Tell the demon I will give them anything for her life back." Merrill nodded, and took a deep breath. She drew out her knife, and Garret winced as she cut her wrist, allowing the blood to flow.

Droplets fell to the ground, and as magic began to swirl around the area where the landed, a figure began to take shape Merrill spoke in hushed whispers, and looked to Garret every so often. He felt sick, but kept his mouth shut. This was to work. It had to.

All of a sudden, there was a flash of light, and Garret was blinded. He stumbled backwards, shielding and a scream broke through the wind’s howls. He couldn't tell if it was Merrill or Elaina, and he wasn’t sure which option scared him more.

He rubbed his eyes quickly, and as his vision cleared, he saw Elaina curled up on the ground. She was twitching, and then all of a sudden she stood very still. He ran to her as fast as he could, stumbling part of the way, before picking her up into his arms. "Elaina?" he cried out, "Elaina?"

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and Garret could see the emotion rush through her. Sadness, anger, joy, all within seconds of each other. “Garret!" she cried out, clutching not him tightly.

"It worked," Merrill breathed, "It really worked. Thank the creators it work.” Elaina broke into sobs, flinging her arms around Garret's shoulders. He smiled and held her close, closing his eyes and relishing in the moment. She was back. Elaina was returned to him. However, the moment of peace was broken when a thought crossed his mind. He looked to Merrill and spoke.

"What did the demon want?"

“It wasn’t a demon,” Merril clarified, “It was a spirit. A spirit of love to be specific. It was drawn to you and her specifically, though it didn’t tell me why. It did not name it’s price either, only that it will come if you are needed, and you shall have to answer that call whatever it may be."

Garret nodded slowly, and continue to hold Elaina tightly to his chest. He didn't care the price. He would do anything for her.


End file.
